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Tackling the world’s highest mountain is not to be taken lightly by anyone. So surely someone with a respiratory disease venturing into the thin Himalayan air would be a dream too far?

Not according to Nick Talbot, a director for the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

He is hoping to follow in the pioneering footsteps of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, with an eight-to-nine-week Everest climb this May.

He suffers from Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic respiratory disease that affects around 10,000 people in Britain.

The statistics for those with the illness are stark. There is no known cure and only half of those with the disease live to 40. Those who have it often find it very difficult to breathe.

But that hasn’t put Nick off. He successfully reached the top of Cho Oyu, the sixth highest mountain in the world, in 2011. And he is feeling enthusiastic about his latest attempt, which he will doing to raise money for the CF Trust, a charity that supports Cystic Fibrosis sufferers. He will be part of a nine-person team, led by mountaineer David Hamilton, who has the benefit of experience, having summitted Everest eight times before.

"I attempted Mustagata in China with David a number of years ago," Nick tells me. "He’s a great guy and hugely experienced."

Isn’t he nervous – especially as no-one with the disease has ever conquered Everest before?

"Not particularly," he assures me. "There will be times when I’m nervous on the mountain, such as at the ice fall at the start, where you cross over crevasses and when you get near the top."

"But I’ve spent a lot of time in mountains. It’s just about staying level-headed and coming down safely."

Currently in training, Nick has recently benefited from new medication, Kalydeco, which has greatly helped his lung function and reduced the risk of infection – two of Nick’s main concerns in the reduced oxygen levels at high altitude.

"From a lung point of view, I will be better off than I was on Cho Oyu because of this new medication," he says. "Climbing Cho Oyu after three attempts felt like a bit of a break through. The first time I tried was in 2007 and storms kept us off the top. I went back in 2011 and we had to abort one attempt because of the weather again, but then we got a good break and made it to the top.

"That was a once in a lifetime experience, just as how summiting Everest would be. Once you have achieved one goal, you push yourself to the next; it’s interesting to see where your personal limits are."

In terms of training, Nick is travelling to the Austrian Alps this month and again in March – to get some practice at altitude.

"My training isn’t as mad as it will be in a couple of weeks," he says. "At the moment I am doing stair exercises, 400 each time. That’s not too bad; shortly I will be doing the same training with ankle weights and an expedition rucksack.

"Really it’s about putting yourself through a lot of duress and building up your leg muscles; but not too much because it’s a real trade off. You need a lot of muscle to get up there, but equally, the more muscle you have, the more oxygen you need. It’s a difficult thing to balance."

Aiming to raise £100,000, Nick hopes the money will help fund research and provide support to those awaiting lung transplants. The gene, which is unknowingly carried by two million people in Britain, can be passed to children by parent carriers.

"Research is at a hugely exciting time at the moment," says Nick. "There is strong potential for effective medication which, it's hoped, will help 90 per cent of people with CF. What’s missing is money."

To further raise awareness and support, the Trust is inviting participants to take part in a three-week Everest Base Camp trek to support Nick in the first stages of his journey.

"Would I prefer it if all these people weren’t watching? If I’m honest, maybe, yes," says Nick. "It all adds a bit of pressure. It’s the reverse of what I would normally do. When I went up Cho Oyu, only four people actually knew about it.

"Climbing that mountain was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life," he adds. "Every step and breath was a challenge. Yet for me this was only for a month or so, the more serious sufferers of CF face this every day of their lives and ultimately have to hope for a heart or lung transplant.

"I need everything to go well. In terms of fitness and my training, the weather on the mountain, the acclimatisation; if all these aspects come together I think there’s a realistic chance of getting to the top but it’s far from certain. It’s interesting to do things in life where the outcome in unknown. It’s incredibly motivating."